goldmullet
New member
Hey. I am looking to add a blue tang. My LFS is against it saying they have like a 50% death rate. Is this true? Are they hard to keep alive?
Blue Tang Help
- Thread starter goldmullet
- Start date
lagatbezan
Active member
What size tank are you looking to put one in and what other fish do you currently have? They tend to get stressed very easily in a small tank and they are also known to be ich magnets. If you do decide to get one make sure to qt it and any other fish you get to make sure you don't introduce ich into your DT.
goldmullet
New member
Well I have a 36 gallon tank now. With clownfish and chromis.
xL30NxCREATORX
New member
dont buy any tang you tank is way to small for even 1 tang alone.
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
no tang will fit in a 36 gal.
and if the tang your talking about is the hippo then you will want at least a 180gal. min. IMO to keep it long term.
and if the tang your talking about is the hippo then you will want at least a 180gal. min. IMO to keep it long term.
crvz
Team RC
Agreed with the others, the blue tang is a really poor choice for a 36 gallon tank. Even small, they do much better with a lot of space to swim. They grow quickly (reach over 1' as adults), are very active, and can be hard to acclimate. The probabilities of success are lowered more by the stress of a small system.
As I mentioned in your other thread, the LFS probably knows your tank size which is way too small for this fish. Not getting it is an excellent decision on your part and a responsible recommendation by your LFS.
4realestate
New member
100 gal min.
goldmullet
New member
Ok thanks for the help guys. I would love to add one bigger fish. Any ideas on a fish that is colorful and I could add?
Bigger fish require bigger tanks. They need room to swim. You should stick to smaller fish in a tank the size of yours.
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
how about a flame angel or a diff. pygmy angel?
Our recommended minimum is 240 gallons.
Good recommendation.
Tmoriarty
New member
Not that I made the right decision, but I figured I would ask in this thread as well. I have a blue tang in a 55g tank. It has been in there for over a month, How long does it take them to grow to a size of 1 foot. It seems happy and unstressed so far, it is approximately 4 inchs long now.
Would it be an Ok reccomendation to keep it until it outgrows its space then sell it back to the LFS or locally? Sorry for the semi thread hijack.
Would it be an Ok reccomendation to keep it until it outgrows its space then sell it back to the LFS or locally? Sorry for the semi thread hijack.
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
IMO it is irresposable to buy fish that you can't keep for the long term. the ammount of stress put on the fish everytime you transfer it is not a good thing.
if your talking hippo tang then you won't have long before it reaches the 1' mark. I have read threads where they reach that length in less than a year. however it will be way to big at 1' in a 55 gal.
8" is about the max length you will want it to get before upgrading or trading it.
if your talking hippo tang then you won't have long before it reaches the 1' mark. I have read threads where they reach that length in less than a year. however it will be way to big at 1' in a 55 gal.
8" is about the max length you will want it to get before upgrading or trading it.
graciesdad
Member
I wouldn't want a big fish in a small tank. I would go with a pretty flasher wrasse or a pygmy angel instead. You can add a lot of color.
-JT
-JT
neoalchemist74
New member
Trust me, I've seen it, soon you will see this fish start pacing back and forth getting faster and stressed every day which in turn will stress out the other fish. Shortly after, it will break out with ich. It will chase all the other fish away from the front of the tank and none of your fish will feed propely. Then the stress and lack of proper feeding will cause all or most of your other fish to get ich. Eventually either the tang will die or you will remove it but by then you may lose fish that would have otherwise lived long and happy lives. Trust me, it is a really sad sight to see a tang when it feels confined to too small of a space. You'll see they really do suffer.
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